This programme recognises an area of increasing importance in the academic and policy worlds, namely the links between peace, conflict and development. The programme reflects the international debates about the nature of peace and conflict in the developing world and the approaches of the international community to support and create peaceful governance in areas of conflict.

The programme makes a direct link between academic and practical policy approaches to analysing and recovering from conflicts, with an emphasis on developing countries, and will provide an extensive menu of choices for masters level students. Contemporary debates cover issues as broad as accountability and transparency, corruption, conflict, political settlement, human rights, participation, access to justice, democratisation and state building and will be of interest to individuals already working in development or recent graduates with some work/volunteer experience seeking careers in development or government, or in NGOs related to governance, state-building and peace.

Each programme is taught by a team of multi-disciplinary specialists who work closely with students to address individual interests and concerns. Every student is allocated an academic tutor to support them in their academic progress throughout the year. The department has a long history of teaching students from across the world, and recent students have come from 99 different countries and a wide variety of professional and academic backgrounds.

We can confirm that EU students who are already studying at the University of Birmingham or who intend to start their studies in 2018 or 2019 will continue to be charged the UK fee rate applicable at the time (may be subject to annual increases for inflation) for the duration of their course. The Postgraduate Masters or Doctoral loan will also be available to eligible EU students for the duration of their course. Visit our EU Referendum information page for more information.

This is an innovative programme taught by one of the leading centres of excellence in this field internationally. IDD hosts the Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding and the Journal of Civil Wars and has produced the leading textbook in this area, Conflict, Security and Development. IDD staff also edit two book series in Statebuilding and Conflict and Development for Routledge. As such the programme draws on our world-leading research to provide an offering that is research-led but also strongly informed by our regular involvement in policy in this area. We are a development department that is looking at peace and conflict. This gives us a particular range of modules and an approach that is unique amongst our competitors, most of which are delivered from an international security perspective. We are currently one of the market leaders in security and development and that particular relationship is in demand with increasing concerns about development aid, refugees, civil wars and the implications for post conflict reconstruction.

The programme looks at the dynamics of conflict and post-conflict politics, including the linkages between good governance, state-building, state resilience, fragility or collapse and approaches to reconstructing peace following violence. It draws on relevant debates, theories and approaches to development, innovations in theories and practices of good governance and state-building in application to developing and transitional countries. All students have access to significant knowledge of the design and implementation of post-conflict peacebuilding and development strategies, including contemporary debates related to international intervention, local political systems, hybridity and the politics of peacebuilding.

Why study this course

This is a very innovative programme taught by staff in one of the world leading centres in this field. The programme is taught very much from a development perspective rather than an international relations view, which opens up a wide range of interdisciplinary approaches to participants.

We also recognise that we have a lot of post-experience students on this programme who have different demands and requirements from a Masters course. We very much welcome the participation of these students as a way to add important first-hand experience to the modules.

At the same time, students coming straight from their first degree gain a lot from IDD staff and fellow students not only through learning in the classroom but also through the life of IDD itself and from the fieldwork as part of the dissertation. Although we are research led in our approach, IDD staff are all regularly engaged in policy discussions and activities ranging from discussing cholera on Haiti with the UN in New York, through to investigating witchcraft and beliefs in Africa and supporting the peace process in Nepal. We embrace an approach that marries practical experience with theoretical rigour.

Modules

Breakdown of course by year, and modules (core and optional)

This pathway is designed for flexibility, allowing you to choose over half of the MSc content from a wide range of optional modules.

How to apply

Making your application

Monday 2 July 2018 is the application deadline for international students (Tier 4) who wish to study in the United Kingdom. We are not able to consider applications for 2018 made after this date. The deadline for Home/EU (non-Tier 4) students is Friday 21 September 2018. Applications will reopen for 2019 entry on Monday 1st October 2018.

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When clicking on the Apply Now button you will be directed to an application specifically designed for the programme you wish to apply for where you will create an account with the University application system and submit your application and supporting documents online. Further information regarding how to apply online can be found on the How to apply pages

Assessment methods

A range of assessment methods are used, with both formative and summative assessment. Assessment methods may include essays, policy briefs and presentations. A dissertation of no more than 12,000 words is also required.

This programme provides a framework for exploring academic synergies and for students to undertake genuinely interdisciplinary study. Students leaving this programme will be academically well-trained but also be in a position to undertake careers in conflict analysis, good governance and management in the developing world. This offers careers in NGOs, Government agencies and international organisations as well as organisations concerned with international risk and business within conflict areas.

See what some of our alumni are doing now and what they thought about studying with us at IDD